Homicide/Cold Case Seminars

The Darl H. Champion Center for Excellence in Justice Administration funds Homicide and Cold Case seminars for both students and professionals. Some seminars are open to students and some seminars are restricted to professionals. The seminars take advantage of Methodist University’s unique Forensic Science program and a nation-wide network of renowned forensic and law enforcement professionals with decades of experience investigating homicide cases.

One of the Center’s first events was a presentation and book signing by Mark Capuzzo, author of The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases. Other presenters have been: FBI Special Agent (Ret.) profiler Mark Safark; Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Professor, DeSales University and author of over 70 books on psychology, serial offenders, etc.; Ross Gardner of Bevel, Gardner, and Associates; Paul Kish, FBI Special Agent (Ret.), co-founder of the FBI Evidence Response Team; Supervisory Special Agent (CW5 Ret.) Dr. Steven Downs; and various members of the Vidocq Society. Professor Dave Pauly (above) has brought these unique seminars to MU in order to both serve the profession and to provide unique learning experiences for students. As of April 2019, the Center has provided these seminars at no cost to over 1,100 law enforcement professionals.

Student participation in these seminars adds to their unique learning experiences at Methodist University. These experiences are not solely for the sake of learning. Numerous Applied Forensic Science students have conducted homicide cold case analyses for several law enforcement agencies in North Carolina. Those students examined those homicide cold cases, digitized older files, examined physical evidence, and briefed back those agencies’ investigators on suggested investigative and analytical strategies.

Contact Professor Dave Pauly at dpauly@methodist.edu.